A number of issues can be tackled with short films and these can be also safely shown to students and parents to bring about awareness, says filmmaker Sagar

The recent spate of unpleasant incidents of rape has made us react to it in many different ways. Techie R. K. Sagar wanted to send a message across on the consequences of rape from the point of view of the perpetrator. “I wanted to show that no one gets away by committing a crime as heinous as rape,” he explains.

Sagar, an information architect, wanted to go solo with the idea of making short films that revolves around issues faced by common people. He started his own production company ‘sourceframes’ and after a lot of thinking, ideating and discussing with friends, he finalised his script for Chocolate - a different rape story.

Sagar’s keen interest in movie making, script writing and directing made him observe the finer elements of filmmaking by watching as many films as he could and also by reading extensively on movies and filmmaking.

“Short film is a wonderful platform which allows us to explore our thoughts on almost all aspects of filmmaking. I wanted to be behind the camera; so I chose to direct and write,” Sagar says.

What makes the audiences sit up and watch Chocolate… and not dismiss it as a filmmaker’s indulgence is the fact that the movie is short, engaging and the actors are convincing in their roles. The director has also worked with a limited cast to avoid confusion and cluttering of the screen. Chocolate opens with a young boy on his way to a temple and then he meets up with his friends to discuss job hunting. While the lead actor appears fine, he seems to be a little disturbed. The story unravels what disturbs the boy and the consequences that follow. “I have chosen amateur actors for my short film; they are B.Tech students who wanted to be a part of a voice raised against rape. Rajith and Rahul, who have acted in the movie, are friends in real life as well. I would not like to reveal the identity of the girls because I don’t want them to be in trouble later.”

As filmmaker Sagar says, a number of issues can be tackled with short films and these can be also safely shown to students and parents to bring about awareness. “To tackle issues we need a medium to raise awareness and cinema can be one of them.”